Family Life
by The Equestrian Writer
Summary: [Sequel to Family Trials] Children are the most precious gift you will receive, you love them, protect them, and sometimes you have to let them go...


**A/N:** Well, here it is, the long awaited sequel to Family Trials. I couldn't wait anymore, I had to get back to this story and these kids. I'm just curious, do you guys still love reading about these families or are you getting tired of them? Oh, I want to put a warning here, this chapter may get a little graphic, so if you are sensitive to blood and/or medical procedures, proceed with caution. Please enjoy!

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 **Prologue**

The Hudson arena was abuzz with activity with horses and riders moving to and fro the main competition ring and the barn area. Peter expertly maneuvered around them, tugging Katie along when she stopped to stare at a cremello pony with purple ribbons in her mane.

"Daddy, I'm thirsty," Katie said, staring at yet another pony with ribbons plaited in its' mane.

"Ok, I think mommy brought some juice, if we ever get back to our seats," Peter told her. He led his daughter through the maze of horses and riders in the barn area. They had just come back from checking on Georgie, who was getting ready to perform with the Extreme Team. It was the sole reason they were here.

"Daddy, can Pogey jump like the big horses do?" Katie suddenly asked him, as they walked by the main competition arena towards their seats.

"I don't know, Katie-Kat, why?" Peter questioned his daughter, although he already had a hunch of where this was going.

"'Cause, I want to jump just like Auntie Amy and Georgie does," Katie answered.

"You do?" Peter asked her as they started to climb the metal bleachers. "And may I ask, why you want to jump Pogey all of a sudden?"

"Because, it looks like fun!" Katie told him as if it were the most obvious answer. "And I want to win lots of pretty ribbons!" Peter couldn't help but laugh at his daughter.

Lou looked up as they approached. "What are you two laughing at?" she asked the two of them, looking back and forth. "Have I missed something?"

"Just our daughter expressing her new found interest in showjumping," Peter explained, sitting down beside his wife. "Katie wants to start jumping Pogey."

Katie hopped onto her mother's lap, excitedly. "Please, mommy, can I?" she asked her.

"We'll talk to Amy, okay?" Lou promised her daughter.

"Yay!" Katie exclaimed. "Mommy, can I get nachos?"

Lou smiled at her daughter's not-so-subtle topic change. She glanced up at her husband, who gave a small sigh and said that he would take her. Lou gave Katie two dollars for the concession stand and the five-year-old beamed delightfully. Katie bounced back down the bleachers and Peter only had a few seconds to give his wife a quick kiss before hurrying after his daughter.

Lou watched them go, feeling happy. She had a wonderful husband and two beautiful daughters, with a new baby boy, who was at home with her grandfather. Bringing a two-week-old newborn to an overcrowded, loud equestrian arena wasn't a good idea, so Jack and Lisa had said they would take care of him for the day, for which Lou was super appreciative. She loved being a mother, but Lou had to admit to herself that it felt really good to get out of the house and just be able to relax.

"Lou!"

Lou blinked and looked up in time to see Amy, Ty and the twins slide into the row in front of her. They greeted each other enthusiastically and then, Amy pulled out two coloring books and set them down on the bleachers the two toddlers were using as a table at her feet. Lou smiled to herself, thinking she had rubbed off a little on her sister.

"Mommy, we need crayons," Lily said, opening her fairy coloring book.

"Here they are," Amy replied, handing the little girl a plastic baggy full of crayons. "Keep them in the bag so you don't lose any." Lily took the bag and Jackson immediately thrust his hand in the bag, grabbing a blue crayon.

"Has Georgie gone on yet?" Ty asked, turning around in his seat.

"Not yet," Lou shook her head. "There's about twenty minutes left in this round and then the Extreme Team is scheduled to perform between rounds."

"Well, then, I think I'm going to go to the bathroom now," Amy said, standing up. Ty was instantly up too, steadying his wife. Before he could ask, Amy put a hand on his arm, stopping him. "I can go by myself, I'll be fine." She gave him a reassuring smile and a quick kiss on the cheek. He helped her down the first few steps and then returned to his seat.

"So, how long til the baby's due?" Lou asked, unable to keep the grin off her face.

"Two and a half weeks," Ty sighed. "Honestly, I can't wait for all this to be over."

Lou leaned down and put a comforting hand on her brother-in-law's shoulder. "Hang in there," she told him. "And remember, it's only going to get worse from here. You out of everyone should know better." Lou let out a little laugh to ease the tension. Ty returned the grin, and some of the stress lifted off his shoulders.

 **~OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~**

"AJ, come get lunch!" Rebecca called, setting a plate with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and apple slices down on the kitchen table. A few seconds later, a gangly three-year-old came bounding into the kitchen, his red race car in his hands, and climbed into his booster seat. He grabbed his sandwich and started to take a bite, when Rebecca stopped him.

"AJ, you know the rules," she told him. "No toys at the table."

"Sorry, mommy," AJ said as Rebecca picked up the car and dropped it into the basket of toys that was sitting in the hallway. She came back to the kitchen table, out of breath, and plopped down in the chair next to her son. "You tired, mommy?"

Rebecca put her chin in her hand and nodded. She smiled at him and picked up a napkin to wipe off the jelly that found its way onto the toddler's cheek. AJ dropped the sandwich crust onto his plate and looked up at her.

"When is sissy gonna come?" he asked her.

"I don't know, hopefully soon," Rebecca told him. "Are you excited to meet your sister?"

AJ nodded and picked up another triangle slice of his sandwich. "I gonna give her my puppy to sleep with." the toddler said between bites.

"But you've had puppy since you were a baby, don't you want to keep him?" Rebecca asked him.

AJ shook his head, seemingly having made up his mind. "I want her to have it," he said again. Rebecca's heart melted at the earnest in the little boy's voice and stroked his hair. She smiled at him, not sure how she'd gotten so lucky as to have this amazing little boy as her son. At that moment, the apartment door creaked open and AJ's face went from startled to excitement in the span of three seconds.

"Daddy's back!" AJ squealed, jumping from the table and running out of the room, his half-eaten sandwich forgotten. Rebecca was much slower as she pushed herself out of the chair. By the time she reached the hallway, AJ was already coming back into the kitchen, holding a small plastic cup. "Look, daddy got me cookie milkshake!" The toddler displayed the cup proudly, taking a big sip from it.

"He did?!" Rebecca gaped. "He better have a second milkshake or mommy's going to-" She rounded the corner and came face to face with a strawberry milkshake. A big grin split her face. "Then again, I knew he was the hero we've been looking for."

"I stood in line for ten minutes at Maggie's to get those two milkshakes," Caleb said, looking for sympathy as Rebecca took the cup from him. She looked at him skeptically from over her straw.

"Well, baby girl appreciates all your efforts and patience," Rebecca replied, patting his shoulder mockingly. Then, she turned and walked into the living room to sit down. As an afterthought, Rebecca called back, asking him to make sure AJ finished his lunch. Caleb smirked, turning towards the kitchen and nearly fell over AJ, who was scampering by.

"Whoa, wait a minute," Caleb said, grabbing the toddler before he got too far and swung him in a wide half-circle. "Did you get any of the sandwich in your mouth?"

AJ laughed as Caleb carried him into the kitchen and set him down on the counter. He picked up a wet cloth and started to wipe the peanut butter off the toddler's face. The toddler's laughter slowly dissolved though, replaced with a disheartened expression. Caleb instantly became concerned and finished cleaning up his son, then tossed the wet cloth onto the counter.

"Car broken," AJ said, holding up his red race car. To demonstrate, he pressed one of the buttons on the top, and nothing happen. Caleb sighed a quiet sigh of relief, knowing that it was nothing serious. He took the toy car, turning it upside down to look at it.

"I think it just needs new batteries, buddy," Caleb told him. "It's not broken."

"Yay, you fix it!" AJ exclaimed, hopping off the counter. Caleb just barely caught him and put him down on his feet. "Then we race cars!" The toddler ran out of the room. Caleb grinned to himself and went to the junk drawer for a screwdriver and some new batteries.

By the time Caleb came back into the living room, AJ was almost finished putting together his race car track on the floor. It wound around and under the coffee table. Everytime they got out the tracks, they made it longer and more intricate. It helped that AJ was asking for more tracks, so they could keeping adding more. The toddler was now trying to connect the last two pieces, and with a growl, he started pounding his fist on the two tracks. When that didn't work, he banged the pieces on the floor.

"Let me see, buddy," Caleb said, getting down on his knees and putting down the big race car. He picked up the two pieces and with a grunt, pushed them together. AJ didn't waste any time, he scooped up a pile of match box cars.

"I pick 'ellow one!" he exclaimed, putting down a yellow car with a black number two on the side in front of him. He held the pile out to Caleb. "Pick one." Caleb picked up a black car, with metallic windows.

"Hey, what about mommy? Don't I get to play?" Rebecca spoke up from the couch. She'd set her half-empty milkshake down on the coffee table.

"Course mommy," AJ crawled over to the couch, so she could pick a car. Rebecca smiled and picked the red convertible. AJ took all three cars to the starting point and lined them up. Of course, he put his car on the track first. "Mark, set, GO!" The toddler gave the car a big push, sending it forward on the track. He did the same thing two more times, with the other two cars and by the end, Rebecca's car was the only that made it all the way to the end.

Rebecca threw her hands in the air and gave a big cheer. AJ pouted and said he needed a new car. The boys continued racing the cars down the track, creating a pile at the end, as they took turns doing it. Rebecca had moved to the couch to stretch out, her hands absentmindedly rubbing her belly. A small nudge came from within, followed by another and another. Rebecca smiled down at her unborn daughter.

"We all can't wait for you to get here, little girl," Rebecca whispered. "You're going to have the best life we can give you. I promise you."

She looked back up at her husband, who was now watching their son line up all his cars along the track. Caleb felt her staring and looked at her, giving her a sweet smile. Rebecca returned, her heart filling with bliss and love. Three years ago, Rebecca never thought her life would've looked like this, but now she couldn't imagine anything better.

 **~OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~**

The night was silent and still, the temperature seeming to drop by the minute. The deserted street was slick with rain from earlier and small flakes of snow were starting to fall as well. Ty had turned on the windshield wipers as well as the high beams, to illuminate any icy patches on the road. Amy leaned her head back against the passenger seat, half-listening to the conversation between her three-year-old twins. She adjusted her seat belt over her protruding belly and let out a big yawn.

Ty grinned at her, "Tired?"

Amy returned his smile. "Just a tad," she answered. "It's been a long, busy day, but Georgie was awesome today, wasn't she?"

"Absolutely," Ty nodded, agreeing. "It's amazing to see her go after something she's so passionate about."

Absentmindedly, Amy shifted uncomfortably in her seat and then, when she couldn't take it anymore, she unclipped her seat belt. Ty gave her a quick, worried glance. "Relax," she told him. "I just need to take it off for a minute, besides we're almost home anyway."

"Is everything okay?" Ty asked her anyway.

"Yeah, it's just another one those annoying pregnancy symptoms," Amy reassured him, but she could tell that he was still concerned. So, she leaned over and gave his arm a squeeze.

"Ow!" Lily suddenly screeched, followed by the sound of something hitting one of the backseat windows and then came Jackson's cry. Amy turned around in her seat to see what was going on at the same time Ty glanced back in the rear-view mirror. Lily was clutching her left arm, her lip puckered in a pout and Jackson has his hand down between his car seat and the door, whimpering. Before Amy could say anything though, she suddenly felt the front of the car slide violently toward the center of the street and the momentum pushed her back against the door. Terrified, she looked over at Ty, who was frantically turning the steering wheel to straighten out the car. They had hit a patch of ice on the road and a knot of fear tightened itself in Amy's stomach.

Now, the car's back end was swinging toward the middle of the road and then, they were rolling straight off the side of the road. The kids were both screaming now and Amy had the thought to quiet them with some reassuring words, but she didn't know what she could say that would make things okay. There was a sickening crunch as the car smashed into a tree and Amy couldn't stop herself from hitting the dashboard. Her only thought was how stupid she'd been for taking off her seat belt.

The air inside the car became very still and even the kids cries had quieted down, so that the only sound was the soft, wet sound of the falling snow outside. Amy heard Ty turn around in his seat and ask Lily and Jackson if they were alright, if anything hurt them. She couldn't hear their answers as she was too busy trying to get her rapid breathing under control. Then, Ty turned to her and asked her the same question.

Amy leaned back in her seat and took a few deep breaths. "I think so," she said.

"Are you sure? Is there any pain at all?" Ty asked her again.

Amy took a minute to decide and this time when she answered him, she sounded more sure. "Yeah, we're both alright." She rubbed a hand over her belly, wanting to feel the baby move or something, for just a little more assurance. Satisfied for the moment, Ty turned his attention on trying to get the car started again.

"Mommy, are we stuck?" Lily asked.

Amy watched as Ty gave one last futile attempt, but the car stayed dead. "It's okay, sweetie, we're going to find-"

Suddenly, Amy's abdomen seized up and she let out a gasping breath. She doubled over, trying to breath through the pain, and that's when she felt something wet and sticky between her legs. Amy didn't have to look to see what it was, she already knew. Her heart started pounding fearfully. She was bleeding.

"Ty," Amy croaked at first, when he didn't look at her, she called to him again, this time louder. "Ty!"

Ty turned around, startled, and one look at her pale, pain-stricken face and his own face paled as well. His green eyes grew wide when he saw the blood on her hand. For a second, Ty didn't know what to do, until Amy gave another hurtful cry. He yanked out his cell phone and dialed 911.

"Hello? What's your emergency?" chirped the operator.

"My wife-she's thirty-four weeks pregnant and I think she's gone into labor," Ty explained to the woman on the phone. "But I think there's something wrong, we were in a accident and there's a lot of blood."

"Ok, sir, I am going to send an ambulance to you, can you tell me where you are?" the operator asked. Ty told her, while keeping one eye on Amy, who was trying to keep her breathing steady, but he could see the fear in her eyes.

"Was there anyone else involved in the accident?" the operator was saying.

"Uh, my two kids, but they seem fine," Ty said, just as Amy let out a painful scream. Ty couldn't take it any longer, he unbuckled his seat belt and opened the door. He ran around the front of the smashed in car against the tree and threw open the passenger-side door. All the while, the operator was telling him that the ambulance would be here in twenty minutes and to stay calm. Ty hung up the phone after that and shoved it back into his pocket.

"Ty, I don't think we have that kind of time," Amy panted, after he relayed the message. "Something's definitely wrong."

Ty leaned in close, placing his hands on either side of her face. "I promise you, I'm not going to let anything happen to either one of you. Not as long as I can help it." he told her. Amy nodded, believing him. Ty pressed his lips to her forehead, letting them linger there for a few seconds. He, then, moved down to see what exactly was going on with their baby.

"Mommy?" came Jackson's small voice.

"Everything's okay, sweetie," Amy gritted her teeth, hoping she sounded calm and reassuring to her son. "We're all going to be okay."

"Amy, I don't see anything!" Ty exclaimed. He had taken off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves, despite the cold. "I can't-"

"Ty, please, save our baby!" Amy pleaded, suddenly feeling her strength start to ebb out of her. She let out a gasp when she felt Ty slip his hand inside her. He grunted as it seemed like he tried to get a hold of something. Then, he looked up at her.

"Okay, Amy, I need you to give me one, big push," Ty told her. "Our baby's almost here."

"I don't think I can, Ty, I'm so tired," Amy said, her eyelids drooping closed.

"Hey, Amy, look at me!" Ty called to her. "I know you're tired, but our baby needs you right now. You need to be strong." Reluctantly, Amy looked at him and nodded.

Ty counted to three and Amy gave the last of her strength to push their child out into the world. Ty caught the baby and wrapped it up in his jacket. "It's a girl," he said, looking up at Amy, smiling. Amy managed a smile as well and then her brow furrowed.

"Why isn't she crying?" Amy asked him, trying to sit up.

When Ty looked down at his new daughter again, he realized just how still she was and that's when he saw it. The umbilical cord dangled out of the the jacket, useless. There was nothing attached to it. Ty reacted immediately, placing his daughter on the ground behind him.

The world around him seemed to shrink. The sirens in the distance, Lily and Jackson's whimpers from the backseat faded away. The only thing that mattered was the tiny infant in front of him and breathing air into her fragile lungs. His hand pressed lightly on her small chest, 1..2..3 and then, he blew a puff air into her mouth.

"Ty!"

Ty couldn't answer his wife, he couldn't stop. His daughter need him. "C'mon, sweetheart, daddy's here. Just breathe, let me know you're still with us," he whispered to the baby, a tear pricking the corner of his eye. "Just breathe."

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 **A/N:** I know, first chapter and I'm already leaving you guys with a big cliffhanger. But hopefully, I can get on a weekly updating schedule, so that it won't be too long a wait. Please review and tell me what you think. :)


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